It is hard to believe that the Carbon County Comet is going into its 4th year. We have completed 3 years in business. That means we have kept the paper going for 156 weeks continuously. 

Wow.

This is one of the most substantial enterprises I have ever participated in.

It is mostly due to Dana Davis.

Although the name Carbon County Comet was my idea, it was Dana who really thought we could create a local paper that would cover the entire County.

May is Wyoming stretching awake after winter slips away. In June, she puts on her dancing boots and gets ready to boogie. Most of the time, life in the valley moves at a fairly sensible pace, with the occasional hiccup. Folks wave at those driving by, and nod a hello at the post office. Then things begin to change, with lines at the local gas station counter and license plates from Texas to Maine in the parking lots. 

Father’s Day has come and gone.

I still take a look at pictures of my father on this day and remember how important he was in my life.

My father has been gone for about 30 years. He died a bit young, honestly, but I didn’t realize it then because he was 32 when I was born and always seemed older than many of my friends’ fathers.

I was his first child and only biological son.

For those of us who have lived in Wyoming a few years, some things are fairly predictable. The wind, prairie dog carcasses on the highway and traffic mayhem in the post office parking lot at 11 a.m. sharp. 

In Saratoga and Encampment, the parking lots sit quietly, waiting, anticipating. A couple of dusty pickups pull in around 10:45 a.m.; another vehicle dives in to drop a birthday card in the box outside that was just found behind the seat three weeks late. It’s fairly peaceful. 

I was leaving the school board meeting for Carbon County School District No 2 in Elk Mountain the other day, and I guess it was about 7 p.m. Not quite dusk, by any means, but it was later in the evening.

As I approached my car, I was swarmed by mosquitoes. 

Because I live in Hanna, which is out in the high desert for the most part and it is windy, there are not a lot of these pesky beasts.

Don’t get me wrong.

Let's Talk

Henry Nicolle

Let’s Talk about American government the way we believe it to be and how I see it!

This is all opinion and you are encouraged to agree, disagree or expand the conversation. It is all the same to me, so please join this Civics 101 conversation. 

Something to Chew On

Virginia Parker

The Carbon County Traveler

Mike Armstrong

I think I wrote about my father being an avid camper on Mother’s Day. My stepmother was a good sport, but I am not convinced it was her idea of a great time, looking back.

People talk about Wyoming like it’s empty. Maybe that’s because they’ve never stood in it long enough to understand what all that space is doing, or rather not doing. Wyoming is uninterrupted. The land stretches so far that you measure distance by weather, which changes every 10 miles, rather than distance. Watching a thunderstorm build in the Red Desert and still have time to finish your coffee before it reaches you.

The Carbon County Traveler

Mike Armstrong

As a kid, I traveled all over the United States. My father was determined that we saw as much of America as we could.

He bought a Kingswood estate station wagon by Chevrolet when I was around 13. Before that, we had a huge Plymouth station wagon. What they had in common was that we could often stretch out and sleep when traveling. 

Something to Chew On

Virginia Parker

There are newcomers to Wyoming who believe Spring really does come in April; that’s kind of adorable. A seasoned Wyomingite knows April is simply winter wearing a lighter jacket and acting unpredictably. 

I met Vickie and Vernon “Scotty” Scott almost a decade ago when I started reporting on the Virginian Hotel for a newspaper.

The first time I walked into the grand, historic hotel, I loved the place then as I love it now.

It is an amazing historical place and although it is not gentrified like so many places I have seen all over the West, its charm cannot be denied.

The Carbon County Traveler

Mike Armstrong

The first time I saw the Fossil Cabin, I had pulled over to actually see the signage on the outlaws who had roamed the nearby land. There was also some information on the dinosaurs that had once been in the area.

I looked over at the stone house that was known as the “Fossil Museum,” and it looked a bit worn down.

Something to Chew On

Virginia Parker

Some towns are born quickly, growing up around railroads, gold strikes or even an intersection. Saratoga quietly bubbled into existence because the earth just couldn’t contain itself. 

The first time I met Liv Lo (Golding), I was running a bar in Taichung. She was striking.

First, she was tall, which in Taiwan is not that common, and without a doubt, quite beautiful.

She was dating Dave, a Canadian friend who was a fairly handsome guy and was in his early 20s.

Dave and Liv moved to Toronto a few months later.

I was opening my restaurant/bar when Liv came back. At that time, I was sort of dating Liv’s half sister, Katrina.